Cargo Carriers investors okay delisting

Overwhelming vote in favour of scheme whereby CCH will acquire the balance of the shares it doesn’t own

SHAREHOLDERS in Cargo Carriers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of resolutions related to a scheme of arrangement or standby offer from CCH, its largest shareholder, which, if implemented, will result in the delisting of the company from the JSE.

CCH is a diversified holding company with investments through its subsidiary companies in the supply chain solutions, trucking, logistics and automotive sectors, and in the footwear, safety footwear and leather manufacturing industries.

At a general meeting on Friday, 95.06 percent of Cargo Carrier shareholders eligible to vote at the meeting voted in favour of the scheme of arrangement and the standby offer, and 100 percent voted in favour of delisting the company.

The meeting follows Cargo Carriers’ announcement in October that it had received a firm offer from CCH, which held 61.11 percent of the issued shares in the company, to acquire all the shares in Cargo Carriers that it did not already own for about R95 million.

The offer price for the shares was R21 a share.

CCH had received irrevocable undertakings to vote in favour of the transaction resolutions from Cargo shareholders holding about 42.9 percent of the scheme’s shares and 55.9 percent of the Cargo shares entitled to vote on the transaction resolutions.

The scheme is expected to be finalised on January 7. Cargo Carriers shares on the JSE will be suspended from the start of trade on January 18, and the company’s shares will be delisted on January 22.

Cargo Carriers previously said the primary rationale for the proposed transaction was the intention to delist the group, to provide it with the flexibility to introduce sustainable broadbased black economic empowerment ownership (BBBEE) structures.

It said CCH believed it was unsustainable for Cargo Carriers to maintain its listing on the JSE, and delisting would result in substantial cost and management time saving.

The group said its shares were not readily tradeable on the JSE, and the proposed transaction would provide a liquidity opportunity for shareholders at an attractive premium.

It said the JSE’s free-float requirements also remained a challenge, and the introduction of additional BBBEE structures would exacerbate this.